Stage 6 preview: 142k (flat)

Feburary 11 update: Flat, hot, smoggy and possibly windy. The race continues on SuperSport and Eurosport 2 for stage 6, the final day. See the race summary links (right) for stage map and timetable. We should have another entertaining finish.

Feburary 11 update: Doubleheader today/tomorrow (Thursday) with stage 3 of the 5 day Le Tour Méditerranéen from southern France. We'll have big photos from Sirotti and video highlights after each stage.

Stage 5 preview: 142k (flat)

Feburary 11 update: Flat and possibly windy. The race continues on SuperSport and Eurosport 2 for stage 5. See the race summary links (right) for stage map and timetable.

Feburary 11 update: Doubleheader today/tomorrow (Thursday) with stage 2 of the 5 day Le Tour Méditerranéen from southern France. We'll have big photos from Sirotti and video highlights after each stage.

Feburary 9 update: The 2010 Tour of Qatar will be broadcast live on British Eurosport so there likely be daily online video streaming. Links for live video, audio and text will be updated here throughout the week if/when they become available. U.S. TV coverage is limited to a one-hour recap on Versus on February 21, 3-4 PM ET. SBS TV in Australia will also do the highlights thing later this month (Feb 28). — Steve

Stage 3 (Tuesday) Preview: 137k (flat)

Feburary 9 update: Flat of course. The race moves back onto Eurosport 2 today while Supersport continues with the earliest live video coverage. See the race summary links (right) for stage map and timetable.

Stage 2 results: Two man break succeeds by almost 2 minutes in the wind; Topsport's Geert Steurs gets the win while breakmate Wouter Mol takes the overall lead

About Qatar

Qatar is an Arab emirate in Southwest Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the larger Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south; otherwise the Persian Gulf surrounds the state. An oil-rich nation, Qatar has the highest GDP per capita in the world according to the CIA World Factbook. — Wikipedia

Stage 6 Preview Sealine Beach Resort → Doha's Corniche

Feburary 6 update: Today's the last stage of the Tour of Qatar as the riders attempt to focus on racing again after yesterday's overnight death of a follow rider. The winds are forecasted at just 5 mph from the norheast so it may be the calmest day yet weather-wise as the peloton heads up the coast for another visit to Doha. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) has a 10 second lead over Roger Hammond (Cervélo TestTeam) on GC heading into the final stage. — Steve

Stage 5 Preview: Camel Race Track → Qatar Foundation

Feburary 5 update: Today the race starts at a camel race track and finishes at some futuristic thinktank complex. The riders are expected to encounter a 20 mph headwind for the first half of the race before heading south again for a fast tailwind finish at the Qatar Foundation. —
SteveBREAKING NEWS:Tour of Qatar rider passes away. The Belgian sprinter Frederieke Nolfi, riding for Topsport Vlaanderen, was found dead of an apparent heart-attack in his room overnight in Qatar. Race organizers have announced today's stage 5 will be neutralized.

Feburary 4 update: Today's stage finished over an hour behind schedule due to a strong (40 kph) headwind and crosswind. When the peloton split, the entire Cervelo team once again made the lead group along with Tom Boonen and six or so other riders. A group including Mark Cavendish then bridged up with Cavendish taking the sprint finish while Boonen was more concerned with protecting his overall lead from Roger Hammond. Hats off to Eurosport announcer David Harmon for his solo work covering a slow, bleak race. He injects the right amount of play-by-play, humour, storytelling and just plain silence. —
Steve

Stage 3 Preview: Zubarah → Doha Golf Club

Feburary 3 update: Ok, we are rolling on here through the desert. Nice to see a break succeed yesterday due to the strong crosswinds. Those with Eurosport service enjoyed the only source for Live TV coverage for stage 1. Maybe a corresponding online video streaming source will emerge for stage 2. Nonetheless, there is live audio which should continue for the week. If you see any alternatives then let me know. Judging by the finish destination for stage 2, we know what the riders will be doing after tomorrow's race. By the way, the Qatar Cycling Federation has an english version of their web site if you are curious. —
Steve

BREAKING NEWS: From AP: A Belgian court dropped criminal charges Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009 against former world cycling champion Tom Boonen for alleged cocaine use. The court, in northwestern Turnhout, Belgium, said Boonen had "been punished enough" after his positive test for cocaine in an out-of-competition doping control kept him out of last year's Tour de France.

8th Tour of Qatar (Sprinters Stage Race), February 1-6, 2009

January 31 update: This isn't the sort of race we normally follow being dead flat and rather unscenic, but there will be a good field of sprinters making their 2009 debut with the names of Tom Boonen and Mark Cavendish on the marquee. There are couple other reasons to do a dashboard for this event. British Eurosport will be providing live coverage and rebroadcasts of stages 2-6 during the week and our European pool photographer, Stefano Sirotti, will be covering the event so I'll be posting a nice selection of large photos each day. Versus (North America) has shown highlights of this event in the past on Cyclism Sundays but I don't see it listed this year. ASO, organizers of the Tour de France, run this event so expect live text updates on the official Tour of Qatar site.

There are an interesting variety of start/finish locations for this event amongst beach side resorts, a golf course, a stadium and my favourite... stage 5 starts at a camel race track and finishes at some sort of thinktank complex. The event starts with a 6 km TTT in Doha, the capital city of Qatar. Will teams really be flying in extra/time trials bikes and equipment for a 6 km TTT? Should be interesting —
Steve